Category: World events, a psychological view

IS THERE A HERO OR A GOD THAT ISN’T FLAWED? by Art Smukler, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, World events, a psychological view, Writing

No build up. I’ll just come straight out with it. In my biased opinion, they’re all flawed.

I concocted a list of presidents, governors, coaches, financiers, actors, college deans and found serious issues with every one of them — sexual indiscretions, judgement lapses, greed, arrogance, stupidity etc. You name it, they had it. If you didn’t see it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Every human being is flawed, but to a different degree. No new knowledge to be gained on that front.

In the god category, I checked out Wikepedia and two other religious sites. There are 22 major religions and thousands of minor ones. I was surprised to find that Christianity was first with 2.1 billion followers (I thought it was Islam), Islam was 2nd with 1.3 billion  followers, third was Atheism with 1.1 billion and 22nd was Scientology with 500 thousand. In-between there are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Mormonism (LDS), Rastafarianism etc.

Each, except Atheism, has its own special GOD. HE, the almighty, the capo de capo, demands full allegiance and in return one gets preferential admittance to the afterlife.

Which religion, forgetting the amount of followers, is the most powerful? That’s a tough one. The best answer I could come up with occurred in 2004 when Brigham Young (the followers of Joseph Smith Jr) beat Notre Dame (the followers of Jesus) in football 20 to 17. That’s actually a lot more entertaining than the game between the Sunnis and the Shias where someone’s always getting blown up because they disagree as to the true successor to Mohammed. So if all the gods are flawless, why are there so many, and why are so many people killing each other to prove that their god is the TRUE GOD?

The real question is why do we need to elevate man to a godlike status, and why do we need a god? Among many reasons, two stand out.

The first is that it all comes down to being a helpless baby — hungry, powerless and vulnerable. To survive, our god-like parents are a necessity. As we develop, we need to break away from parental rule (the terrible twos, adolescent rebellion), but still need and want someone wise and loving who will care for us. Voila (a little French mysticism), we elevate fellow humans and we attach ourselves to a GOD. It happens everyday in any doctors office. Vulnerable people are desperate to be nurtured and cured.

The second, is that we’ve been indoctrinated with religion from the moment we take our first breath. It’s very challenging to combat centuries of history and tradition.

It all makes sense except for one “little” part. Half our country is so religiously oriented that the concept of a division between church and state has become nonexistent. “If you don’t believe in my god, I won’t vote for you!”

What happened to the god of common sense?

All thoughts and ideas about heroes and gods are very welcome.

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WOMEN. THEY ARE A COMPLETE MYSTERY, by Art Smukler, author

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, World events, a psychological view, Writing

Stephen Hawking, a well-known, brilliant physicist, was interviewed by New Scientist magazine. When they asked the wheelchair bound, 70 year-old scientist what he thinks about most, he answered —

Women. They are a complete mystery.

Here’s a guy who writes books about how the universe began, and he’s stumped by a mere woman. Well Stephen, join the group. Most men are in the same quandary. So why are women so perplexing?

We’re usually physically stronger. We usually have more political power. Bias has kept women weaker in the marketplace. We can score touchdowns and they’re relegated to jumping around in skimpy outfits on the sidelines cheering for Brawny Bill, who just scored on an off-center, power-right play. They don’t even know what an off-center, power-right play means, nor do they care. So why do most of us with the little y gene lust to have one of them a part of our lives?

Guys, we can’t fight Mother Nature (note Mother not Father). They gave birth to us and we’re programmed to desperately desire to explore where we came from. Stephen, I hope you’re not insulted that I’m being so familiar, but the answer to the universe is lying right next to us in bed. Without that answer being so close, most men would spend an inordinate about of time and money looking for a replacement, often a younger and more compliant edition. Then after we have procured her, 50% of us get disappointed, divorced, and start the search all over again.

As my muse once said during a stressful time, How ’bout a piece of gingerbread cake? Maybe that’s the answer to the universe? Wait, isn’t gingerbread cake just a replacement for mother’s milk? Maybe we just need our mothers, but someone so disguised in Spandex and all the right curves that we can’t recognize her?

Maybe the universe works just fine keeping women a mystery…

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